Chapter 64 - Father-in-law Acceptance
"Yi'er you are back?" Li Shanguaan noticed her first at the entrance and smiled at her with warmth. "Huh? Why are you crying? Did someone bully you?" In an instant, her smile vanished and she worriedly looked at Chen Yi. Once confirming she was indeed crying, Li Shanguaan discarded everything and immediately rushed to Chen Yi to ask what was wrong.
"I am...crying?" There was a warm smile upon her lips. She unconsciously touched her eyes to find them moist. She was surprised.
"Yi'er what happened." Li Shanguaan patted her back with a face full of worry.
"It's nothing, I just..." Chen Yi didn't know what to say.
Maybe, after facing and fighting her Aunt, she was emotionally exhausted.
Although she had been strong and able to suppress her emotions all along, she was just a human in the end. Though she succeeded in the end, it took an emotional toll on her.
Because her Aunt, Ye Zhouyan, was once someone she considered in the place of her mother. After her mother's death, she had been the one Chen Yi looked up to.
Chen Yi had seen the true faces of these people. But that didn't mean the memories where the naive Chen Yi used to serve them willingly to gain their approval and used to love them sincerely would also vanish.
"Did Li Luxian bully you?" Li Shanguaan wasn't aware where Chen Yi had gone to so she could only blame her son. A moment later, when Chen Yi didn't reply, Li Shanguaan glared. "Just let him come home today, I will beat him with this very ladle!"
Hearing her words, Chen Yi forgot everything about her Aunt and broke into violent coughs. "What the... I mean, there is no need, mother, really!" She waved her hand.
Ah, how could she forget? This Li family was totally absurd. When Li Shanguaan said she would beat Li Luxian with a ladle, Chen Yi dared not to underestimate her claim.
She might just end up doing the same!
And the image of Li Luxian being beaten with a ladle was enough to make Chen Yi choke.
Li Shanguaan appeared unwilling to accept. "Are you certain he didn't do anything? You do not need to fear him and hide anything from me. He is my son, after all, I can straighten him with little to no effort!" Mother-in-law offered her generous help while swinging her ladle confidently.
"Onion!" Chen Yi immediately cried. "Mother had been cutting onions. That's why I cried! Mother, you might not know this but ever since I was young, my eyes had been very sensitive to onions!" She immediately gave an excuse to stop this Mother-in-law who appeared to be too eager to find an excuse to beat her son with a ladle.
"Is that so?" Although Li Shanguaan was strict with her sons, she was very naive. "Then...be careful." She was not very sharp. After all, it was the reason she accepted Chen Yi without any prejudice. She immediately believed in Chen Yi's excuse.
"I will be." Chen Yi eagerly nodded. "What is Mother cooking? I am also good at cooking. How about I help mother?"
"How can I ask you to cook? Li Luxian entrusted you to us. What if you end up hurting yourself?" Li Shanguaan denied her suggestion immediately.
It was only after a lot of persuasion from Chen Yi that she relented and let Chen Yi assist in the cooking. Chen Yi had some expertise in this field. She skillfully cut the vegetables and adjusted the spices to reach an ideal taste.
All the while Li Yuan made countless attempts to poke his nose in their business. Li Shanguaan tolerated him at first. It was only when he started annoying them, Li Shanguaan kicked him out of the kitchen.
The whole house was filled with the aroma of delicious food.
When Li Guang came back home, he was assaulted in the same way Chen Yi was. His lips pressed in thin line: "That damn woman! I have told her countless times not to tire herself in the kitchen. Can't she learn from the Madams of other families at our level? When have ever any of them stepped into a kitchen ?" He grumbled.
Though he complained, there was an undertone of doting in his tone.
His stomach grumbled even louder in protest. "Damn it, if not for she cooks better than all the servants in the home, I would have never allowed her to step in the kitchen!"
What was the Li family? It was the most influential family in the entire in the capital. Let's not talk about the country, there were hardly any families that could match its influence in the whole world.
And the Madam of the great 'Li' family who was portrayed in media to be surrounded by thousands of servants and served by the world most famous and renowned chefs, the one who was the object of envy from all the ladies of autocratic families in the city, who would have guessed that she cooked on her own for the whole family?
While Li Guang neared the kitchen, he was surprised to hear the laughter of joy emanating from inside. He paused, making minimum noise he approached the entrance and peeked inside noiselessly.
When he saw Chen Yi and Li Shanguaan joyfully laughing and cooking together in harmony, a complicated emotion appeared in his eyes.
He only accepted Chen Yi because of his son's stubbornness. But right, at this moment, he was having second thoughts. "Although Wang Hualing appeared to be better than Chen Yi in comparison to qualifications, this is something she would never have."
Wang Hualing's personality might be compatible with the standards of the royal families on the top. She might be successful in presenting a favorable image of hers in front of the media and the whole world.
But Li Guang had to admit, when it came to his son Li Luxian and his wife Li Shangaan, Chen Yi complimented them far better than any woman from those autocratic families.